January Westen' and the Downfall of the Mermish
by Dare to be strange
Summary: Join January Westen' on her journeys as her first year at Beauxbaton's Academy of Magic. Will she have a normal school year, or will mischief and problems find her?


Chapter 1

Waiting

"It's been three weeks, I don't think I'm going to get accepted, Nanny."

I looked up at my Grandmother. She had been a constant force in my life, the only thing that was steady, the only thing I could lean on. She was a kind woman, a generous woman - she was more a mother to me than my own was.

"Of course sweetheart. Most of your family has gone to Beauxbaton's. Don't worry. I have faith that you will be following in the footsteps of your women ancestor's before you." She smiled and stroked my cheek, staring out her cottage window, observing the ocean abroad. "I can remember when I got my first letter to Beauxbaton's... oh, how exciting it was."

I sat at her oak kitchen table underneath the big bay window overlooking the ocean and tried to think of my Nanny in Beauxbaton's, gallavanting around the school with her friends, causing mischief and other sort's of things. She was so reserved, it was hard to imagine it, but I had seen many pictures growing up - I knew it was true.

"Nanny, why can't I go to Hogwart's like Roy?"

Roy was a boy who lived a few blocks down. He was a different little boy who got teased often but was really glad to find a friend, no matter what kind of person it was. That's when I came along. Him and I developed a friendship, merely out of the fact that we had no one else who would be-friend it. It was a good friendship and had kept us both healthy, until he had got accepted to Hogwart's. When he had been accepted to the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, his whole attitude changed. He stopped being the quiet, shy, nice boy and became the arrogant, in your face, better-than-you-always being he was now.

Nanny rolled her eyes, stirring some more sugar into her tea. "I never liked Hogwart's. It's probably because I never liked the Dumbledore's." She took a sip of her tea and held it just up against her lips, looking out the bay window again, a look of meloncholy on her face. "Such a long time ago it was, such a long time ago."

I had noticed that recently my Nanny had started to repeat things. I didn't know quite what it meant but I vaguely could remember Grandpa' when he couldn't remember anything. It made my mother quite upset, it was very hard to deal but that's where my Nanny had come in. My Nanny and my Grandpa' had never been close, the only thing that kept them together was the family they shared together. Grandpa' could never leave us and Nanny understood. So they stayed married, but they were more friends than they were lovers. I promised myself that when I was the right age, I would find someone to spend the _rest_ of my life with and not just a portion.

I stared out the window with Nanny for a moment before she tapped me on the arm and pointed outside. "I want you to go collect some kindling now. I'm tired and want to go for my bath. Stay out for about half an hour, okay?"

I cringed. Nanny always used magic when she was having her baths, she would use spells to create pleasant auromas, visual effects in the water, but she would never let me witness it, even though I had seen my mother perform magic numerous times. Nanny was more secretive about it, so thus', whenever she wanted a bath, she would send me to collect dry kindling from the shoreline. It didn't take me half an hour but she wanted me out late, so there I would walk on the beach with a head full of thoughts and no one to talk to.

When my half an hour was up, I went back into the ocean-side cottage and set the kindling in it's usual spot; the cling that beside the stove. Nanny had a woodstove and even though she was in a moderately warm climate she was always cold. My mother and I could never understand, we always ran on hot and were thankful when we could get a cool day here and there.  
>I walked into the living room and sat down. I picked up a few magazines off the glass table and flipped through them, a bored look in my eye. I had already read all of these ones. Nanny didn't have TV, so one had rely on reading or nature to keep one satisfied. It was hard really, considering I really hadn't a lot of things growing up and my imagination was quite limited.<p>

"Honey?"

I looked up from my magazine and to the doorway of the living room where Nanny was standing, drying her hair out. I smiled and she smiled back, looking at me with sideways glances. "I have to go out, okay? I'm going to call Kyle."

"Oh Nanny, no... Kyle _hates_ me."

"Oh sweetie," she smiled, coming over to sit next to me as I groaned, setting the magazine behind me on the pillow. "He doesn't hate you, he's just coming out of his teenage years. It's a hard thing to go through, you'll understand when you go through it. Plus, he's a shy guy." I looked at her doubtfully as she touched my arm. "You like video games?"

I nodded. I liked to play a few, although Mom would never really get me any game systems. "Yeah."

"He does too. I'm going to call him and ask him to bring his game station down. That's both something Kyle and you could do. Sound good?"

I wanted to say no but I hated the look in her eye, the look that she wanted everything to work out perfect. It was a soft point for me, and I always caved.

"Alright." I plasted on a fake smile and stood up, waiting for her to stand as well. When she did, I followed her into the kitchen. "So when is he coming?"

"Oh, well... about twenty minutes, I managed to catch him on his cell phone."

I nodded and stood awkwardly by the fridge. My blood sugar was down, and I wanted to down a can of pop and have a nap on the couch. Mom noticed this and went into the fridge, grabbing a can of Dr. Pepper and handed it to me.

"Go and have a nap, I'll tell Kyle to leave you until you wake up."

I didn't say anything and walked in a haze to the couch. When I sat down, I opened up my pop and downed it hastily. Then I plopped face down onto the couch cushion and sawed logs into nothingness.


End file.
